Irish shoppers spent average of €1,450 each online last year

SHOPPERS are going online for greater savings, splashing out an estimated €2.1bn last year on internet credit card purchases.

Figures from Visa Europe show the average Irish shopper spends €1,450 online per year, with flights and holidays the most popular purchases.

The research also indicates most shoppers believe buying online is secure and cost effective, although almost two-thirds are seemingly unaware of their customer rights when it comes to internet buying.

Visa Europe surveyed 1,000 adults across the country. Some 83% had bought flights and holidays online in 2009, while 67% of respondents had purchased entertainment tickets. In third place was CD, DVDs and video games, with 52% of respondents having bought those items online last year.

Women spent more money online than men, with 25% of female respondents spending more than €1,000 in 2009.

Despite the credit crunch, many shoppers believe they are getting better value for money by buying on the internet. Half of those surveyed said they saved between 11% and 30% by shopping online.

Almost nine-in-ten respondents said they were confident that the sites they were purchasing from were reputable, while 80% said they knew what security features to look out for while buying.

However, just 62% said they knew what their consumer rights were when buying online.

The average worker spends 55 hours per year seeking out purchases between 9am and 5.30pm – the equivalent of one working week per year.

According to a spokesperson for Visa, the figures on average spend last year are down compared with 2008.

“Irish consumers spent an average of €1,700 each on online purchase of consumer products (including flight bookings) in 2008, a total spend of €2.2 billion across 1.3 million shoppers in Ireland.

“Irish consumers spent an average of €1,450 each – down on average of 15% per online shopper – on online purchase of consumer products, including flight bookings, in 2009, leading to a fall in overall online spend of only 3.6% in Ireland to €2.1 billion.

“This fall in average online spend was softened due to an increase in the number of online shoppers from 1.3 million shoppers in 2008 to 1.47 million.”

Visa Europe estimated the overall €2.1bn spend by multiplying the average individual spend of €1,450 by the 1.47m people with internet access and who regularly shop online.

* www.visaeurope.com